


That time Zuko and Aang proposed to each other

by TrashTrish



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Bisexual Aang (Avatar), Bisexual Zuko (Avatar), Emotional, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Engaged, M/M, Marriage Proposal, POV Zuko (Avatar), Trauma, Zukaang are engaged
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-29
Updated: 2020-02-29
Packaged: 2021-02-27 23:48:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,047
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22944298
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TrashTrish/pseuds/TrashTrish
Summary: When Aang leaves right before Zuko plans to propose, it sends him down a dark path. Plagued with old insecurities and doubts, he begins to question his relationship with Aang and whether asking the man to marry him is the right move. His beloved uncle steps in and gives him some things to think about. But will the wisdom of his uncle be enough to calm his fears? When Aang returns the question remains, will Zuko carry out his proposal? Or will this be the end of their love story?
Relationships: Aang/Zuko (Avatar), zukaang
Comments: 12
Kudos: 233
Collections: Forever Zukaang





	That time Zuko and Aang proposed to each other

Zuko hated that he was upset. This was supposed to be an exciting time in his life. He was planning to propose to the love of his life! Everyone who mattered knew, with the exception of Aang himself, and they were all happy for them. And he was meticulous with planning the where, when and how. It was all he could think about for weeks now. The plan consisted of a slow build up to _the moment_. One where they spent every second of the three days before together. And now that plan had gone to shit. It started with Aang being called away for an unknown amount of time to help settle a worsening feud in the Earth Kingdom, one that threatened to start a civil war between Ba Sing Se and Omashu. All because a loyalist to King Bumi believed the old king should be king of the entire Earth Kingdom. Never mind the fact Bumi had no interest in becoming king to everyone. It didn't matter. The bad blood was there and was getting to dangerous levels. 

It made Zuko wonder if the world was trying to tell him something. Like maybe he and Aang were not meant to be.

Because why else would Aang be called away right before he was planning to propose.

It got so bad for him that he isolated himself from everyone.

It didn't last for long. A day and a bit at most. His uncle was not a man to let Zuko wallow in self pity and he stayed outside the palace until the knocking and calling of his name got to Zuko enough to invite his second favourite person in the world in. A decision he regretted immediately when he realised his uncle was there at worst get him to open up and at best to cheer him up. He wasn't sure why cheering him up seemed better but he suspected it had something to do with his uncle's logical view of most things and Zuko was not always the most logical and he didn't want to be. 

"Zuko, hiding away like this isn't good for you. Aang has been gone a day and you're already falling apart. I know you love the boy but you need to have faith in him and you need to trust that you are worth coming back to."

"I can't help it," Zuko replied, his old sullen self returning. He didn't know why he was feeling so sour towards his uncle but he felt annoyance prickle at his core.

Okay, so maybe he did know. His uncle had poked a sore spot for him. It was no surprise either. Uncle Iroh knew him better than almost anyone else in the world. Aang knew him best, but only because he was more open with him and they spent all their time together now, when they weren't being pulled apart. But even Aang didn't know how deep his shame went, how powerful his self-doubt grew. It was something that would hurt Aang and he didn't want that. But somehow his uncle knew. Maybe he had fallen back into more of his old self than he had realised.

"He will come back." His uncle said again, more forceful this time.

"Yeah, sure, he'll be back... eventually."

"He will. But you need to figure this out Zuko. I love you, nephew, but you cannot fall apart like this every time you and Aang are apart."

"I was working on it, until you interrupted me."

His uncle's sigh echoed in the huge drawing room. It was mostly empty too and he knew the most likely reason was his staff were afraid to be in the same room as him. There was still some fear of him. Nowhere near as much as when he first took over as Fire Lord, but sometimes, when he had a bad day, he saw the fear in the eyes of the people who didn't know who he was. "Why do you do this to yourself, Nephew?"

He felt the tears pool in his eyes until the pressure overwhelmed him. The urge to break down and cry right there was strong, but he wasn't going to let the tears spill. Not now. Not when he was trying to prove that he was working on things. It sucked. Everything was fine before Aang left. They had been happy and he felt content for the first time in his life. Before, he had always felt like he had something to prove and that he needed to work hard so he wasn't on the outside looking in. With Aang, that was never something he felt. It was like he always had a place with him. He belonged by Aang's side and it came to him with such ease. And now he was hysterical because he was doubting his place at Aang's side. He was doubting how worthy he was of being by someone so full of love and good.

He had tried telling himself that he shouldn't doubt himself, that it should have all ended the day Aang kissed him for the first time. But he knew it was more than Aang. It was something he didn't want to admit to himself, let alone anyone else.

"How can I not?" he said in frustration. "You know Aang. He's got this good in him that nobody else I know has. And he works his butt off every day to maintain the peace we have struck in the world. He never gives up on the dream of us all being able to live harmoniously one day. What have I done? Sure, I joined the right side in the end. But not before I betrayed you. Not before I went back to a monster who wanted to wipe out yet another nation. Not before I fucked everything up a million times. I keep trying to be the person who deserves Aang, who deserves to be forgiven for his past actions. But I can't stop doubting whether I've done enough. Whether I could ever do enough to make up for every fucked up thing our family and I have done in our lives. Sometimes I don't know how Aang can look at me when he knows it was our family who carried out the Air Nation Genocide."

His frustration grew. He looked everywhere but his uncle, who remained silent. "I love Aang. He makes me happier than I have ever been before. But that is something that will always exist between us and I thought it was something I could work past, but what if it isn't? What if this is a valid reason we shouldn't be together? I don't know anymore. I don't know if I have done enough to deserve him, to make up for everything that has happened." He was struggling to hold it together. "These aren't small things. They're huge. And I don't know that I will ever be able to do enough, to help enough, to make up for everything. I _know_ I will never be able to undo any of it."

He couldn't hold back the tears anymore. Glancing up, he saw the sadness etched on his uncle's face before he grabbed his arm and pulled him in for a hug. "Oh, Zuko, you have come such a long way from the boy I traveled the world with. You're a man a father could be proud of."

His uncle's hold tightened and then he told him to let it all out. The reassurance was all he needed and soon the floodgates opened and he was sobbing in the arms of his real father. Not the man he had spent years trying to win the love of, but the man who had given his love freely, even when he betrayed him, even when he treated him horrible, even when he was undeserving of anyone's love, he gave it and never took it away. The man holding him right now had been part of shaping who he was today. He never thanked him enough for it, bit somehow his uncle seemed to know how much he meant to him. Even when Zuko couldn't express these things, Iroh knew.

"I wish you could see yourself the way I see you. The way Aang sees you. That boy knows you have a loving heart. Do you think he would love you if you didn't?" His uncle's words were soft and kind, yet firm at the same time.

He sniffled a little. "There's a lot of people out there who would argue you on that."

"That's right. There are many people who will judge you for your past, your family, for the atrocities our family have carried out over the last 100 years. For the atrocities I played a role in. But they're not the ones who know you. It doesn't mean they don't have the right to their feelings. Neither of us will quite understand what they went through and we should never judge or hold those feelings against them. It just means we have to stay true to who we have become now and try to make the world better for them, so the future generations can get out from under the weight of all the wrongs our family has done. It also means listening to those who love you and realising not everyone holds it against you." His uncle cradled his face between his hands. "Take the past and grow from it. Let the world see the kindhearted man I know you are." 

He fought for composure, which was hard. Iroh's words were starting to resonate even if he wasn't ready to see it yet.

"I love you," he told his uncle.

"You are like a son to me, Zuko. I love you, too and I'm proud of you."

He hesitated for a moment, feeling a strange uneasy in his stomach. "Thank you. For being the best dad a person could ask for, when you didn't have to be. Thank you for loving me when I didn't deserve it. Thank you for never giving up on me, even though there were so many times you should have."

His dad took his hands in his and held them close to his heart. "I don't want you to thank me for loving you. You deserve love. You deserve a fathers love. I meant what I said. You are my son and nothing will ever change that. I want you to hear that. I want that to sink in. You could decide to step down in the morning and I would love you. You could blow up your life in the morning, which I hope you don't, but I would still love you. There is nothing you could do that would stop that love. Now, one last piece of advice, learn from my mistakes. Keep moving forward. Never forget who you were but don't dwell on him. Learn from him." 

The rest of the week was a blur, between talking to everyone and getting lost in thought when he was alone, he'd struggled to keep up. He spoke to his friends but didn't let them in. Toph and Katara made sure to call every day, while Sokka reached out twice, with some snarky comment about the proposal and a few awful jokes to ease the sting. Suki was sweet as always but he didn't really have the same relationship with her. And then there was his mother. Ever the worrier, she would show up and try to drag him out but all he wanted to do was think. So that is what he did. He locked himself in his room and he thought. He reflected on his actions in the past and how he had grown from that angry, bitter teenager to a man who was doing something to make the world better. He thought of how much he had grown since he and Aang had grown close. The man challenged him in ways even he didn't know about. After all the horrible things his family had done, he was finally starting to make up for it. It wasn't an easy task. There was so much pain and destruction cased by his family. Maybe there was no way to make up for it all. Maybe all he could do was his best. Maybe that's all anyone could do in this world.

It was the night before Aang was due to come home when it came to him and he fell asleep with a smile on his face and his heart feeling light again for the first time this week.

He awoke in the middle of the night when he felt lips against his neck. He woke up slowly, thinking at first it was the dream he was having, but once he felt those hands on his, entwining their fingers together, he knew Aang had come home to him.

With no words spoken between them, he turned in the arms of the man he loved and kissed him with all the fire and intensity of the love he felt for him. Their mouths fit perfectly together and over the last couple of years they had grown into being together. They were no longer the awkward, inexperienced kids they had been at first. Their mouths and tongues moved together in perfect harmony and their hands could explore and pull away clothes without getting caught or fumbling too much. They could give each other the most intense pleasure imaginable and every time he was inside Aang, he saw stars. They shone so bright and in those moments of seeing stars, nobody else in the world existed but him and Aang, curled together among the stars. 

It was Aang taking the lead tonight. Zuko was stripped before his brain could register what was happening to him, Aang's mouth never leaving his. He was living in this moment with the man he loved and allowed Aang to pin him to the bed, their mouths parting for nothing but oxygen. He could do this for the rest of his life and never grow tired of it. His brain conjured up images of him and Aang as old men, making love the way they were now, feeling just as much in love as they were right now and desiring each other with the same burning intensity.

Aang broke away from the kiss to start a trail of kisses down his body, taking the time to stop and pay extra special attention to his nipples, biting and teasing them and making them hard as glass. Aang's hands caressed his body working just as hard as his mouth was and doing an equally good job of making him feel the blazing passion burning through him. He was a whimpering mess, but could form no coherent words, only sounds. His body was licked and kissed and caressed to perfection and by the time Aang finally entered him he was a boneless mess of need and then came the stars. Aang's beautiful naked body looked perfect in the starlight. Tonight the sky behind them was purple and the stars were carrying them up into the sky with every thrust. Both of them were panting, whimpering figures, floating into the abyss. The world ceased to exist until the explosion came and him and Aang along with it, at the very same time. 

They collapsed against the bed and breathed heavily, Aang laying against his chest. It took a while for his brain to catch up with everything.

"T-t-that was amazing," he breathed.

Aang was able to gather himself quicker and smiled. "That was perfect." His smile could light up the darkest room.

"Yeah, perfect."

And soon they were drifting off to sleep. Zuko was able to fight it off long enough to clean both himself and Aang with a wet cloth before throwing it across the room and holding Aang as he finally gave into the temptation to sleep.

The next day he was nervous, but an excited nervous. He would make sure they had a perfect day today. He had a plan. It was hopefully going to come together perfectly. Then, when the day was ending, he would take Aang out on Appa and propose. It was going to be perfect. Just them and Appa in a sky full of stars.

Their day started out with them enjoying each other in bed. It was a slow start to the morning, but in the best way possible. He let Aang in on his plan for the day over breakfast. Thankfully Aang was on board with the plan, enthusiastically on board. After breakfast they went for a walk together. He took Aang to places outside the palace where he had fond memories from his childhood. He told him stories about his childhood, both good and bad. This was something Aang always wanted to know. He had asked Zuko to tell him stories of his childhood more than once. And he figured, since today was the day he was going to ask Aang to be his husband, and since Aang had told him so many stories about his childhood from 100 years ago, today was a better day than any to start. He told him about feeding the ducks with his mom, he talked about the laughs they shared under the trees. He told Aang about the time his mother had taken his sister and him to the farthest part of the garden and tried to play the monster, but Azula had ruined it by refusing to play along and then called him and their mom stupid, which led to his mom bringing them back inside and reassuring Zuko it was okay, and they could play again the next day.

But Azula hadn't wanted to play then either.

He also told him about the time he spent the day with his uncle and cousin at the beach, and how much fun he had, how he felt like he was part of a real family for the first time. He also opened up about how much that day had changed him. How it was the day he had really started craving a father who loved him and wanted to spend time with him, not just pawn him off on others to raise and nurture. Aang squeezed his hand and listened intently to what he was saying. Aang told him most kids would feel the same way. And reminded him of the times Aang had wished for parents too. Because as much as he loved Gyatso, and as much as he knew Gyatso had loved him, it had never been the same as having parents around you. 

He knew Aang saw Gyatso as his parent now. In a way it made him sad that it came too late for Aang to say anything. But if there was a life after this one, if they went anywhere when they died, he knew Gyatso was watching and knew that Aang felt this way. He imagined the man would be happy. He imagined even before Aang thought of the man as his father, Gyatso saw Aang as his child. It was evident in the way Aang talked about their time together.

Zuko was opening up more than he ever had before. He was glad it was with Aang. This was the man he was going to spend the rest of his life with. He deserved to hear all these things. 

After the stories, they took a blanket and lay on the grass together, enjoying the sunshine and talking work. Of course the two of them would use their shared day off to talk about work and the progress they were making with their plans for bringing the Four Nations together. He guessed it was a good thing. After all, if they were talking about it when they didn't have to, it showed how much they both cared about their goal for their future. It showed how strongly they believed in it. It was nice to dream of a world where everyone could live peacefully. In the middle of talking about the future they wanted to build, Appa flew overhead and shed some hair all over Zuko, which Aang found hilarious. Zuko, not so much. Until Aang's laughter became so contagious he couldn't hold back his own and that earned him a mouthful of hair. But laughing and talking was good.

"I'm so glad I have you in my life," he told Aang.

"I never expected I would love anyone the way I love you," Aang told him. "I always believed in love but... I don't know. It was hard to picture balancing being the Avatar and being in a relationship. But I was drawn to you from the beginning. Though at first I thought we'd just be friends." They both smiled at the memory of the day, almost ten years ago now, when Aang had asked them if they could be friends instead of enemies. "But you won my heart almost every day after you joined us until my heart was no longer mine, it was yours."

"And you won mine and now it's all yours to do with as you please." He had never spoken truer words.

Aang kissed him gently then pulled back with a silly smile. "Let's go ride Appa!"

It was earlier than he had planned but seeing Aang so excited made him agree. After all, this day was already perfect and who cared if things came to a head a little earlier than he had planned. Maybe they could stay up there for a few hours and watch the stars come out together. It would be nice to have Appa there. Over the last couple of years he had grown especially close to the big sky bison. He would never compare to Aang where Appa was concerned but he thought they had become buddies in their own right lately.

It was perfect. They had so much fun flying around on Appa. They laughed at jokes and more stories. He loved the stories so much. And soon the stars were staring to come out. They lay back, holding hands, and watching as day melted into night and the clear sky filled with stars.

"Zuko," Aang whispered next to him. It sounded like he was holding back tears.

Panic stabbed at his heart. "What's wrong?"

Aang looked so close to tears. "Nothing. Nothing's wrong, I promise."

"But you're crying!" He knew he sounded frantic but he couldn't help it.

"I'm crying because I'm happy." Aang chuckled a little and brushed away the tears. They were both sitting now, facing each other. "Oh." "Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you. I was just thinking about how good my life is now. I have you and your family and our friends and we're all in such a good place and I didn't think my life would get this good again. Not after losing everyone I grew up with. But you have made my life so much better than I ever thought possible and I can't imagine life without you in it. I don't know if you feel the same as me. But I love you so much Zuko. You are my soul mate, my best friend, you're my family, Zuko. I want to spend every single day together. I want us to grow together. I want us to have a family. I want you, and everything that comes with you. I want us to spend the rest of our lives together." They were both crying. His eyes were burning with molten hot tears. "Zuko, my sweet, wonderful, love, will you marry me?" He let out a gasp of joy. Inside he was screaming Yes, YES, YES! A million times yes. 

But he was silent. The words would not come to him. His mouth was moving he was pretty sure and he was breathing fast, while his heart hammered inside his chest. But the words wouldn't leave his lips. It wasn't disappointment either. Although that would come too. He had wanted to be the one that proposed. His inability to speak came from the pure joy he felt. It was overwhelming him to the point of short circuiting his brain. 

With the words still refusing to come he did the only thing he could, he grabbed Aang by the arms and pulled him in for a kiss. He kissed his yes, he kissed his love and he kissed every word in his speech that he had wanted to say to Aang. Zuko wanted him to feel his love and know what his answer was. He knew it worked when Aang smiled into the kiss.

"You have such an amazing way with words."

They laughed and he rested his forehead against Aang's. "I have to confess. I planned to propose to you tonight." The words were flowing, but not easily. "I had planned... I wanted to... I wanted you to know." His brain was still catching up. 

"Then ask." Aang said with a smile.

"I don't know what I ever did to make the world bring you to me. I feel so lucky to have met you even. When I fell in love with you I was still a boy inside doubting his worth and goodness. But through that I have loved you. It was the one sure thing I knew. Ever since you were called away I've had to face that those doubts still exist and they hadn't gone away like I wanted to believe. I asked myself; How could I deserve you? How could I ask you to tie yourself to me? I'm not the good person you are. I've done horrible things. I hurt a lot of people. Even people who cared about me. My Uncle. He was there for me and I pushed him away. I tried to kidnap you. I would have killed you when we first met if my father had asked me to. I played a part in continuing the war, and not just a small one. I chased you around the world. I was going to let my sister kill you. I almost did it myself. I was a mess wondering how I could ever process all the wrong I have done and be married to you at the same time. There's also the fact my family are the reason yours are gone. My great grandfather ordered the genocide of the Airbenders. It was my bloodline who did that to the people you loved. They took it away from you and I wonder how you can look at me. I wasn't sure how I could ever make up for nay of it.." He took a breath and steadied himself. His heart was still racing in his chest. "But you know what I realised?"

"What?" Aang asked.

"I realised that I can't undo any of it. There is way for me to change the past. But I can still spend every day of the rest of my life working toward healing and peace. I can make sure the fire nation does better in the future and give future Fire Lords have the foundation to not repeat the actions of our ancestors. Our schools should start teaching the truth about the things we as a nation did wrong, the role we played in the war. They should be taught not to idealize the idea of an all powerful nation because that breeds war and violence and a superiority that doesn't exist. They should learn that we were on the wrong side of things, that the nations actions were wrong, my family was wrong, I was wrong. If I can help prevent this from happening again then I feel like I am doing something good and right." It felt good to tell Aang about the plans he now had. The fact he came up with them without input from anyone else felt like a step in the right direction.

Zuko smiled a little. He was close to bawling again. "And I realised I don't have to do any of that alone. I realised that I have you and you inspire me to be a better person. I realised even before I loved you, I was doing better and maybe I'm not perfect, but maybe I can work hard and be the man you can be proud of. I realised that you are on my mind my every waking minute. I realised that maybe the world gave you to me because it knew we brought out the best in each other. I was such a different person when we met and now I'm a man, not a boy. I want to bring peace to the world, not war. I want to be with you for the rest of my life. I want to spend every single day making you as happy as you make me. I used to think it was my destiny to capture you and bring you to my father. But now I realise my destiny is to help you rebuild and heal the world. And I want to do that as your family, your husband. I want you, Aang. I want you more than I have ever wanted anything. I want you because I love you. And maybe I will never truly believe I deserve you, because I'm not sure anyone could ever deserve someone as amazing as you, but I promise to work hard every single day of my life to give you the love you deserve. I promise to give you all of me. I promise I will always be open and honest with you. I promise to give you my heart. I promise to cherish and take care of yours. I promise I will never stop loving you, I promise I will never leave your side."

They were crying again.

"You're my everything, Aang. My whole world. And I want to give you my whole world. I want to have a family with you. I want to make the world a better place, with you. Will you make me the happiest man to ever exist and marry me?"

Aang didn't answer with words.

He answered with a kiss.


End file.
